The Status Game
On Human Life and How to Play It
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The Status Game
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Narrated by:
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Will Storr
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Written by:
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Will Storr
About this listen
‘Will Storr is one of our best journalists of ideas … The Status Game might be his best yet’ James Marriott, Books of the Year, The Times
What drives our political and moral beliefs? What makes us like some things and dislike others? What shapes how we behave, and misbehave, in groups? What makes you, you?
For centuries, philosophers and scholars have described human behaviour in terms of sex, power and money. In The Status Game, bestselling author Will Storr radically turns this thinking on its head by arguing that it is our irrepressible craving for status that ultimately defines who we are.
From the era of the hunter-gatherer to today, when we exist as workers in the globalised economy and citizens of online worlds, the need for status has always been wired into us. A wealth of research shows that how much of it we possess dramatically affects not only our happiness and wellbeing but also our physical health – and without sufficient status, we become more ill, and live shorter lives. It’s an unconscious obsession that drives the best and worst of us: our innovation, arts and civilisation as well as our murders, wars and genocides. But why is status such an all-consuming prize? What happens if it’s taken away from us? And how can our unquenchable thirst for it explain cults, moral panics, conspiracy theories, the rise of social media and the ‘culture wars’ of today?
On a breathtaking journey through time and culture, The Status Game offers a sweeping rethink of human psychology that will change how you see others – and how you see yourself.
©2021 Will Storr (P)2021 HarperCollins Publishers LimitedYou may also enjoy...
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2 out of 5 stars
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way too long and boring. doesn't get to the point
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If we all want love, why is there so much conflict in our most cherished relationships? To answer this question we must look into our evolutionary past, argues prominent psychologist David M. Buss. Based one of the largest studies of human mating ever undertaken, encompassing more than 10,000 people of all ages from 37 cultures worldwide, The Evolution of Desire is the first work to present a unified theory of human mating behavior.
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4 out of 5 stars
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Good overall. But Author is biased toward feminist ideology
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Corruptible
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 45
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 37
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 37
An “absorbing, provocative, and far-reaching” (Kirkus Reviews, starred review) look at what power is, who gets it, and what happens when they do, based on over 500 interviews with those who (temporarily, at least) have had the upper hand - from the creator of the Power Corrupts podcast and Washington Post columnist Brian Klaas.
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1 out of 5 stars
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Think he has a point but backwards examples
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The Forgotten Highlander
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Overall5 out of 5 stars 38
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Performance5 out of 5 stars 36
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Story5 out of 5 stars 36
Alistair Urquhart was a soldier in the Gordon Highlanders captured by the Japanese in Singapore. He not only survived working on the notorious Bridge on the River Kwai , but he was subsequently taken on one of the Japanese ‘hellships’ which was torpedoed. Nearly everyone else on board died and Urquhart spent 5 days alone on a raft in the South China Sea before being rescued by a whaling ship. He was taken to Japan and then forced to work in a mine near Nagasaki.
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5 out of 5 stars
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loved it
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“An exceptional book” (Helen Fisher) by a leading evolutionary psychologist and sex researcher that lays out a new theory of sexual conflict, exposing the roots of the dangerous dynamics that underpin men’s predatory behavior - and what can be done to address it.
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5 out of 5 stars
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I’m a man. This book changed my life
- By anonymouswriter on 2024-11-02
Written by: David M. Buss
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The Science of Storytelling
- Written by: Will Storr
- Narrated by: James Clamp
- Length: 6 hrs and 51 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 40
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 36
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 35
How do master storytellers compel us? There have been many attempts to understand what makes a good story, but few have used a scientific approach. In The Science of Storytelling, Will Storr applies dazzling psychological research and cutting-edge neuroscience to our myths and archetypes to show how we can tell better stories, revealing, among other things, how storytellers - and also our brains - create worlds by being attuned to moments of unexpected change.
-
2 out of 5 stars
-
way too long and boring. doesn't get to the point
- By Carsandgunns on 2023-05-28
Written by: Will Storr
-
Truths
- The Future of America First
- Written by: Vivek Ramaswamy
- Narrated by: Timothy Andrés Pabon, Vivek Ramaswamy
- Length: 7 hrs and 18 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars 3
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 2
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 2
Today’s conservatives know what they’re against. They’re anti-woke, anti-globalist, anti-big government. But what exactly do they stand for? The fact that this is a hard question to answer is a damning indictment of the modern Republican Party which has abjectly failed to articulate an affirmative alternative to the left’s vision. Ramaswamy calls on the conservative movement to articulate exactly what it stands for, or else warns of another illusory “red wave” in 2024.
Written by: Vivek Ramaswamy
-
The Evolution of Desire
- Written by: David M. Buss
- Narrated by: Greg Tremblay
- Length: 12 hrs and 20 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars 106
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 87
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 87
If we all want love, why is there so much conflict in our most cherished relationships? To answer this question we must look into our evolutionary past, argues prominent psychologist David M. Buss. Based one of the largest studies of human mating ever undertaken, encompassing more than 10,000 people of all ages from 37 cultures worldwide, The Evolution of Desire is the first work to present a unified theory of human mating behavior.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
Good overall. But Author is biased toward feminist ideology
- By Bob on 2024-06-27
Written by: David M. Buss
-
Corruptible
- Who Gets Power and How It Changes Us
- Written by: Brian Klaas
- Narrated by: Brian Klaas
- Length: 9 hrs and 6 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 45
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 37
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 37
An “absorbing, provocative, and far-reaching” (Kirkus Reviews, starred review) look at what power is, who gets it, and what happens when they do, based on over 500 interviews with those who (temporarily, at least) have had the upper hand - from the creator of the Power Corrupts podcast and Washington Post columnist Brian Klaas.
-
1 out of 5 stars
-
Think he has a point but backwards examples
- By Nicolas on 2023-07-20
Written by: Brian Klaas
-
The Forgotten Highlander
- My Incredible Story of Survival During the War in the Far East
- Written by: Alistair Urquhart
- Narrated by: David Rintoul
- Length: 3 hrs and 14 mins
- Abridged
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars 38
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 36
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 36
Alistair Urquhart was a soldier in the Gordon Highlanders captured by the Japanese in Singapore. He not only survived working on the notorious Bridge on the River Kwai , but he was subsequently taken on one of the Japanese ‘hellships’ which was torpedoed. Nearly everyone else on board died and Urquhart spent 5 days alone on a raft in the South China Sea before being rescued by a whaling ship. He was taken to Japan and then forced to work in a mine near Nagasaki.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
loved it
- By Rob Kiefer on 2019-05-27
Written by: Alistair Urquhart
-
When Men Behave Badly
- The Hidden Roots of Sexual Deception, Harassment, and Assault
- Written by: David M. Buss
- Narrated by: Tom Parks
- Length: 10 hrs and 47 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 38
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 25
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 24
“An exceptional book” (Helen Fisher) by a leading evolutionary psychologist and sex researcher that lays out a new theory of sexual conflict, exposing the roots of the dangerous dynamics that underpin men’s predatory behavior - and what can be done to address it.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
I’m a man. This book changed my life
- By anonymouswriter on 2024-11-02
Written by: David M. Buss
What the critics say
‘Will Storr is one of our best journalists of ideas … The Status Game might be his best yet’ James Marriott, Books of the Year, The Times
‘[The Status Game] challenged the way I think about the role of status in my own life and in some ways it made me feel less terrible about some of my unhealthy fixations. If you find yourself needlessly worried about status, it might do the same for you … I can’t stop thinking about it’ Sean Illing, Vox
‘Eloquent, entertaining’ New Statesman
‘Moving … Scholarly … Storr showcases a rare skill – the ability to use technical academic scholarship in solving a real-world problem’ Helen Dale, CapX
‘I haven’t finished reading The Status Game because I’ve only read it once. There's so much in this dazzling book I will be revisiting over and over again’
Daniel Finkelstein, author of Everything in Moderation
‘The Status Game could not be more timely and provides a missing piece for understanding where we are, and how to get out of this mess … I can’t recommend it highly enough’
Greg Lukianoff, co-author with Jonathan Haidt of The Coddling of the American Mind
‘Thought provoking and enlightening – you’ll be discussing The Status Game everywhere you go’ Sara Pascoe
‘Bursting with insights into the hierarchy-crazed hellscape of a world shaped by social media, this book confirms Will Storr’s own status as a master storyteller’
Helen Lewis, author of Difficult Women
‘A radical new theory of human nature … It should – quite appropriately – establish Will Storr as the finest science writer being published today’
David Robson, author of The Intelligence Trap
What listeners say about The Status Game
Average Customer RatingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Gabriel
- 2023-01-14
A paradigm shifting account of the human condition
I cannot recommend this book more highly to anyone who satisfies the following criteria:
1. You are a human being
2. You interact with other human beings
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Gary moore
- 2024-03-03
Great insights
Amazing book. Great bits of psychology and history. I was completely sucked into this book the entire time.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Vladimir Druts
- 2024-01-15
Possibly the most important book of the century.
I haven't been this moved by a book in a long time, and I read and listen to a lot. I'd say next to Steven Pinkers The Blank Slate this is an absolute must read.
Not only is the subject, premise and examples used incredible well articulated, selected and enticing but it's written in a captivating way.
I did not want to stop.
The end? isn't a boring oh well these are the problems but I don't know how to fix them. Instead, the author does the difficult task of actually outlining plausible solutions.
it's sobering, real and balanced... and quite possibly the future of our species depends on the amount of people you can get to read it 😁
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Overall1 out of 5 stars
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Performance1 out of 5 stars
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Story1 out of 5 stars
- Jared Starling
- 2024-03-14
No Such Thing As Vaccine Injury?
Unfortunately the author decided to heavily insert bias opinion into this book, causing me to now question the research backing up his status game hypothesis.
Claiming that all vaccines are safe and don’t cause side effects is simply untrue. Claiming that anyone who questions the safety of vaccines is in a cult is one sided and irresponsible.
The author was unable to separate his Neo-Liberal support for big pharma and simply write this book from a neutral standpoint. It’s unfortunate he couldn’t control his virtue signalling, especially since mentioning the whole vaccine debate was not necessary to the hypothesis.
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Overall2 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story2 out of 5 stars
- Matthew Willox
- 2022-10-07
I'm posting this review to sound smart
Striving to be good at [insert activity] is ultimately selfish because it'll raise your social status. This may be 'technically' correct, but it's an incredibly reductive and nihilistic epistemological framework to apply to human activity.
It's not all bad, but when it's bad, it's really bad.
The author reduces nearly every human action to a selfish act in a status game. This has the effect of equivocating donating to charity to selling your daughter into sexual slavery because both are acts conducted to pursue status within their respective 'games.' I wouldn't say the author attempts to justify this, but in an effort to maintain some distance from moral relativism, the author makes no effort to compare status games. Everyone is just selfish regardless of the outcome.
It might be true in some thought experiments in an anthropological context, but give me a break. It's the reductionist thinking that edgelords and first-year philosophy students use.
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